Biography

Emil Tellefsen creates groove-like neo-romantic works that blend his experience with classical and commercial music—drawing influence from composers such as Caroline Shaw, Philip Houghton, and Sufjan Stevens. Tellefsen has participated in the Vienna Contemporary Composers Festival and Longy's Divergent Studio Festival. His suite for string trio, Water, was released in fall 2024 on all streaming platforms and features Kevin McFarland on cello, Ash Mach on viola, and Joshua Wyly on violin. “Water can provide complete stillness or rapid movement. It can either emit calm, grounding energy or an intense storm,” as the DU Clarion describes. Tellefsen's interdisciplinary projects span music and sound design work for Global Game Jam entries, an indie animatic, and a product tutorial video for the tech startup GraphIQ. Tellefsen graduated with BM in classical composition at the Lamont School of Music under Sean Friar, Leanna Kirchoff, and Nathan Hall, and studied classical guitar under Laura Husbands and Jonathan Leathwood. Emil also performs as a guitarist and vocalist in the indie rock band Rose Cold.